Goa govt rejects proposal to hold Sunburn festival in Quitol

Panaji: Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) has rejected the proposal of Sunburn organisers to hold an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festival at the Quitol-Betul plateau, where the Defence Expo had taken place.

Speaking to IANS, GIDC chairman and MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, said that the proposal of Sunburn has been rejected by the board.

“During our board meeting, we rejected Sunburn's proposal to hold the event at Quitol,” Lourenco said, adding that the organisers had identified the same plateau, which was used for holding the ninth Defence Expo in March 2016.

The land at Quitol, measuring nearly 12 lakh square metres, was acquired by the government a few years back to set up a food processing park.

After Sunburn announced its 18th edition will be held in South Goa between December 28 and 30, activists and people from this district have started opposition.

On Saturday, armed with placards, activists and people from South Goa gathered in front of the collectorate building and shouted slogans against the Sunburn’s EDM festival.

Last year, Sunburn faced many issues along with opposition from locals of the North district of the coastal state. Considering the opposition by locals, the Goa Tourism Department had refused to grant permission to the 'Sunburn Music Festival' on December 31.

BJP MLA from the Siolim constituency, Delilah Lobo, had urged the government not to allow the 'Sunburn Festival' on December 31, stating that it will affect the business of local restaurants and traffic jams will deter people from attending the midnight mass. Hence later the music festival was held from December 28 to 30.

The political parties in opposition have also opposed the move of Sunburn to enter South Goa for its EDM event.